Demon Queened - Chapter 58 - Rough Draft

Abigail

Dinner went… Well, better than I expected it to, I guess. Which really wasn’t saying much. Honestly, I was just glad that it ended without any dishes thrown about. Guess Nivera didn’t want to piss off her soon-to-be mother in law that badly, though, because she mostly stuck to glaring Marlene a few dozen times to keep her in check. 

The food was pretty good, too, I guess. Good enough for Devilla to empty two plates of it, anyways. Where the hell she put it, I have no idea. Maybe angels just didn’t have to worry about that sorta thing? Something to maybe ask her later.

Either way, with dinner done, the next thing on the list was pretty obvious - getting Lucy and Devilla back up to the 101st floor without anyone noticing that a human had been brought on board. Not that it was exactly a challenge with Devilla handling the illusion. In fact, it went so smoothly it’s barely even worth a mention.

At least the journey itself did. The rough part came shortly after, when Lucy put a hand on Devilla’s shoulder, and asked, “Is it okay if I talk to Abigail for a bit before we go?”

“I certainly don’t have an issue with it,” Devilla replied, before glancing at me. Despite what she said, I could see the worry in her eyes. I wanted to believe it was for me, but I knew at least a little bit of it had to be directed towards her girlfriend’s well being. Maybe she was afraid of what I might say to her? I don’t know. Still, it was clear she was asking what I wanted. Which was appreciated, but… not really necessary.

“Not like I have a reason to say no,” I replied, shrugging. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Actually, I was sort of hoping we could discuss this by ourselves?” Lucy admitted, before glancing at Devilla. “If you don’t mind?”

Devilla blinked in surprise - hell, I did too for that matter - but shrugged, and nodded, heading towards the door. “If that is what you wish, I certainly have no problem with it.” She did make a point of glancing my way before actually leaving, though, and only opened the door after I gave her a little nod. Which, again, was appreciated - even if I couldn’t help but think she was worrying a bit too much.

I mean, sure, she was basically leaving me alone in a room with the woman  whose entire purpose was to kill me and everyone like me, but… I mean… it was Lucy. I didn’t exactly like her, but I sure as hell didn’t fear her. Even if I was probably a fair bit weaker than her, what with me being… well, weak in general. At least by demon standards. My magic capacity in particular being absolute shit…

“So,” I began, deciding to push those self-deprecating thoughts away, “what do you want with me?”

“It’s not really about what I want,” Lucy said, cryptically. Though from the smile on her face, I don’t think she was trying to be infuriatingly vague. “It’s about you! And Eena. And how much you like her!”

…Okay, maybe I preferred the vagueness, after all. 

“What do you mean?” I asked, forcing myself to smile. Thankfully, I was really good at faking it. Certainly a hell of a lot better than a certain pair of pseudo-siblings who couldn’t even trick a toddler with their strained expressions. 

“I mean… You like her, don’t you?” Lucy asked back, curling a strand of red hair about one of her fingers. “Like, you really like her. I can see it in your eyes when you look at her.”

“So? You want to tell me to back off or something?” I asked, wincing internally at the irritation in my own tone. I wasn’t trying to make enemies with my boss’s girlfriend, here. Even if I did maybe sorta kinda fancy the boss in question.

Lucy’s smile never budged, though. Hell, if anything, it maybe grew a little wider as she shook her head. “I think you should ask her out!”

“What…?” The hell? “Do you not have a jealous bone in your body? Who the hell tells another girl to ask out her girlfriend?” I mean, sure, polyamory was a thing - and a relatively common thing, at that - but there was a difference between accepting multiple partners and pushing someone towards your own partner with absolutely no regard for yourself. Especially considering Lucy didn’t exactly know me. Hell, I wasn’t even sure we’d ever talked directly before. It was definitely the first time we had a private conversation, at the very least.

“I don’t really get jealousy,” Lucy admitted, shrugging. “I mean, if something’s really great, why wouldn’t you want to share it with people you care about?”

“You can’t possibly be including me in the list of people you care about. We don’t even know each other!”

“No, but we could fix that! You could go on a date with me, after your date with Eena! Then maybe it’ll turn out we all like each other!”

“And if we don’t?” I pressed, narrowing my eyes at the Heroine. “What then? You expect me to give up on Devilla after already asking her out?”

“Well, it’s not like we have to like each other that much to share her,” Lucy pointed out. “I mean, as long as she makes enough time for both of us, it’s fine, right? We don’t really have to interact… But why should we assume the worst? Isn’t it better to hope for the best? I mean, Eena really likes you, even if she doesn’t see you that way just yet! Which means you’re a good person, as far as I’m concerned, and I don’t see why I wouldn’t get along with you too!”

“Uh, maybe because you’re a human?” I countered. “Not to mention the Heroine.”

“Why does that matter?” Lucy asked, confusion written all over her face. “We’re working together to end the war, aren’t we? Doesn’t that mean we’re already comrades?”

“Yeah, but…” I trailed off, unsure what to say. That this was different? It was - or at least it felt like it was, but I couldn’t really explain why. Maybe because she was literally the epitome of all that I’d been brought up to fear? A member of the same species that had hunted our species to near extinction? Sure, I was onboard with the idea of peace, but that was more about necessity than anything. We weren’t in any position to win the war, short of Devilla going on a mass murdering spree across the entire continent. It didn’t mean I actually wanted to live side by side with humans, or anything. I just… needed to.

Just like I needed to at least try and get along with Lucy if I wanted to stay by Devilla’s side.

“Forget jealousy,” I said. “I’m starting to think you don’t even have any selfishness in you, either. Actively trying to share your loved one with a total stranger? No way I could ever do that.” 

Devilla probably could, though. In fact, I was willing to bet she’d do the exact same thing as Lucy, if she was standing in her shoes. Though in Devilla’s case, she’d probably outright expect to be left for the second party, at some point. Speaking of…

“Aren’t you afraid that I’ll steal her away or something?”

“Definitely!” Lucy replied, causing me to gape at her in surprise. “I mean, I’ve never been with anyone before, you know? And Eena’s really kind, sweet, and selfless - even though the last part is maybe more about not thinking she deserves anything… I’m sure she’ll be the same, even once she gains confidence in herself, though! Just… maybe… a little less self-destructive? Oh, but that doesn’t have anything to do with why I’m terrified, though. Not directly, anyways. It’s just that I can see all sorts of people wanting her time for themselves… Still, I don’t want to keep her from knowing that someone else loves her! I want her to choose to stay by my side, even knowing that - and I don’t mind if she wants to stand by someone else’s side, too! Though I’d like it even more if we could all somehow stand side by side together!”

“You’re insane. That’s… You’re basically just dreaming of an ideal future! What if it goes wrong? What if I try to steal her away from you, altogether? What if she’s not interested in dating two people? What if she ends up having to choose between us? There’s no putting things back in the box once I open up about my feelings, you know!”

“I don’t think you're the sort of person who would try and steal her,” Lucy replied. “And even if I’m wrong, I don’t think Eena’s the sort to be stolen…”

“And if you’re wrong about both?” I countered.

“Then I want to know now, before I fall even deeper in love!” Lucy declared, placing a hand over her heart. “I really don’t think I’m wrong, though! I believe in Eena!”

“Why? You’ve known her for… what, a few weeks? There’s all sorts of stuff you don’t know about her!” Not that I was any better, in that regard.

“And I can’t wait to learn all those things about her!” Lucy replied, beaming at me. “But right now, the first thing I want to learn is whether she’s willing to date two people!”

“...I don’t get it… Why are you willing to go so far for me? To risk all this on me?”

“It’s not really for you.” Lucy admitted, her grin fading. “Or at least not completely? I mean, I guess it partly is, but… it’s also for Eena. Because I want her to be as happy as she can be! And I think if you keep quiet about your feelings, it might interfere with that happiness… and even if it doesn’t, I don’t think she’ll be able to achieve peak happiness! That can only happen if everyone she cares about comes together!”

“You’re dreaming,” I said, shaking my head. “You want an ideal scenario, where nobody has to give up anything, and everyone’s happy - and you’re willing to risk the happiness you already have to get it? The happiness Devilla has with you? It’s crazy.”

“Maybe I am dreaming,” Lucy admitted. “Maybe I’m crazy for trying something like this… I know polyamorous relationships can work, though! And even more than that… maybe I could have a happy ever after if I let things continue as they are, but I’ll never have the happiest ever after if I don’t at least try for it!”

“...Fine. We’ll do things your way. Not like I have anything to lose…” Except maybe Devilla’s friendship if things didn’t pan out well. And my job, I guess - though not because Devilla would fire me. More because it would be super awkward to keep working around her if things went bad.

“Great!” Lucy chirped. “Let’s go ask her, then!”

“What? Now?”

“Yup!” Lucy confirmed, reaching for the doorknob. “The sooner we do it, the sooner it’ll be over! Then we can work towards our ideal future! Together!”

“That’s…” Technically true? Though whether my heart was ready for it was another matter entirely! Lucy was already swinging the door open with a wide smile, though - and on the other side? Devilla, with a forced smile, obviously trying to pretend like she hadn’t been quietly panicking throughout our entire conversation, and wondering what we might have had to say.

That inability to convincingly hide her true emotions was part of what I liked about her, though…

“Is everything alright?” she asked, looking between the two of us with concern in her eyes. I couldn’t help noticing that she didn’t actually linger on one of us in particular, either. Like she was equally concerned about us both…

“Yup!” Lucy replied. “Abigail has something she wants to ask you, though!”

“Something to ask?” Devilla inquired, arching an eyebrow. “Something that required a private conversation between the two of you, first?”

“Yeah, well…” I hesitated a moment - but only for a moment. Then I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and took the plunge. “It would have been a bit awkward asking you out without getting her permission first.”

Silence. Absolute, deafening silence. Then, the slight clanking of armor as Lucy began to move. Clanking that only got louder the longer I kept my eyes closed, until eventually I forced one open to take a look at what was happening around me.

The results? I kinda wished I hadn’t. I mean, Lucy was basically dancing in place and barely holding back a squee from the looks of things, while Devilla was just sorta… staring at me in shock.

“I think I broke her…”

“N-no,” Devilla replied, shaking her head rapidly back and forth. To clear it, I guess. “It’s just… you caught me off guard. It… it almost sounded like you were expressing romantic interest in me, for a moment, but… I’m sure you just meant… I mean, you can’t possibly… I mean, I haven’t done anything to earn your affection, so why in the world would you…”

“Like I know?” I asked, crossing my arms. “Maybe it’s because you’re nice? Or maybe it’s just me clinging to the first person who’d put up with me… who’d listen to me, and take my advice seriously. Or because you’re actually really sweet, and selfless, and you’re always thinking about other people, even when you should really be thinking about yourself… or maybe I just have a thing for broken chicks. I don’t know! I’ve never fallen for anyone before! But… I don’t know. The more I learn about you? The more time we spend together? The more I started to hate our time apart. I didn’t even realize it, at first. I mean, one day I was perfectly fine, and the next I was dreading the moment you’d leave my arms to go back to her. And yet she’s the one who’s pushing me to ask you out, like some sort of saint, while I’m rambling like a loon who doesn’t even know when to shut up, and… and…”

Devilla’s form blurred. One moment she was standing there, shocked, and the next she was standing in front of me, her arms wrapping around me to pull me into a hug. It was only then that I realized I’d started crying at some point.

“I would be honored to go on a date with you,” Devilla declared, in that formal tone of hers. The one that helped hide how incredibly bad she was at this sort of thing. I was willing to bet my paycheck that her face was red as a beet, right then. Half the reason she was hugging me was probably to hide it.

…Okay, maybe more like a quarter of the reason. A third, at the most. The rest was just because she cared.

“Then it’s a date,” I replied, deciding to push that thought out of my mind for the time being. “We can go… uh…” Crap. I hadn’t thought that through.

“How about tomorrow?” Lucy suggested. “We can fly to the city I wanted to take you to in the morning, and then you can go on a date with Abigail that night!”

“I… yes, that sounds good,” Devilla replied. I couldn’t help but notice the slight tremor in her voice, though. And her body. She was obviously feeling a bit overwhelmed.

“Tomorrow, then,” I said, deciding to end the hug and save Devilla more embarrassment.

Or at least that was the plan before Lucy flung herself into the hug, wrapping armored arms around us both, and squealing almost directly in my ear.

It was only then that I remembered something she’d said earlier - about her wanting to go on a date with me, after my date with Devilla. But… there was no way she actually expected me to go through with that, right?

…Right?

~~~

Author's Notes

I know I said we'd be going back to the adventure proper, but I guess I kinda inadvertently lied - or rather, I forgot a very important scene I needed to write before we could go back to our world trotting fun.

The good news is, that I wrote this way  faster than I expected it to. Abigail's been coming super easily of late, though, so maybe that's not too big of a surprise? I'm pretty happy with the results, one way or the other.

Next up is the adventure proper, and then the first date soon after. Next up for the story, anyways. Next up for me is... writing some more of that fanfic commission, I guess? And then maybe working on that Abigail x Feyra scene I promised forever back. That assumes that I can finish the commission with time to spare, too, but considering I originally intended to write it between Weds and Fri I am very much ahead of schedule. So, uh, keep your fingers crossed that depression doesn't wreck that, I guess?